Tow Vehicle - Michelin LTX or LT?

[tjdonahoe]

....LT tires max at 80 lbs of air....LTX 50 lbs? therefore a p tire,which 1/2 pickups and suv's use...LTX is a lire tire...

[IAMGLG]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

....LT tires max at 80 lbs of air....LTX 50 lbs? therefore a p tire,which 1/2 pickups and suv's use...LTX is a lire tire...

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[Tireman9]

Important technical info.

LT and ST type tires can be placed in trailer service with no reduction in load capacity.

P type tires must have their load capacity by dividing by 1.10 if placed on ans SUV, PU or trailer.

Load capacity is an important consideration when selecting tires. Don't be mislead by those that don't include the P or LT or ST when discussing tires.

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

....LT tires max at 80 lbs of air....LTX 50 lbs? therefore a p tire,which 1/2 pickups and suv's use...LTX is a lire tire...

Correction....LTX is a P tire....

[RandyNH]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

Correction....LTX is a P tire....

I liked the LIRE TIRE, seems like a French word implying impersonation, kinda like a "P" tire impersonating an "LT" using LTX to throw off people who don't know better.

[andreasduess]

Michelin LT was a recommended option for our Dodge Durango. We've ended up with a Japanese all terrain tire (name escapes me right now - brainfreeze) with an XL load rating and a stiff sidewall.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

Michelin LT was a recommended option for our Dodge Durango. We've ended up with a Japanese all terrain tire (name escapes me right now - brainfreeze) with an XL load rating and a stiff sidewall.

XL means it is a "P" type tire with slightly higher than normal inflation pressure. If you check you may find the max inflation of your P tires even at XL is lower than a LR-C LT tire.

Also since you have a P type tire it's load capacity should be divided by 1.10 when applying to an SUV or P/U

Note the load capacity comes from the inflation and not a "stiffer" sidewall.

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Also since you have a P type tire it's load capacity should be divided by 1.10 when applying to an SUV or P/U

I wonder why?

[tjdonahoe]

Was sent a picture of a LTX M/S2. LT 265/75/16. Michelin E 80 lbs air...so you have to watch very closely LT or P...

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by dkottum

I wonder why?

Part of the decisions and load calculations used by tire engineers are the expected application.

All tire load formulas are basically "Air volume" x "Air Pressure" x "Application factor" = "Pounds load"

It is the application factor that gets tricky. Some applications like passenger cars can almost never get loaded to much more than 70% - 80% of the tire load capacity. P/U application in the past was for trucks that spent much of their time with loads. Trailers basically get the smallest (lowest cost) tires allowed so got the 1.1 factor

Station wagons carry more load than passenger cars so they got the 1.1 factor

In the 70's the highway speeds were much slower 55 mph was the law for a long time.

But then RVs got larger (heavier) and highway speeds got faster and SUV's replaced Station wagons. Tire failures increased when the vehicle mfg kept the inflation low for soft ride in their trucks.

What didn't keep pace is RV tires because the industry doesn't want to spend more $ on larger and better LT type tires so failure rates increase.

[Tireman9]

"LTX" is a marketing name like "Marathon" or "Transforce"

There is no such thing as an LTX235/70R16

If your tires have only 35 psi they are Passenger type and have a P in front of the numbers in the tire size.

Please read the entire tire size and when commenting please include the complete tire size including the "Service Description".

I don't know if they used the product name LTX to intentionally confuse customers but that has been the result. The LTX line incluses both P and LT items.

People it's not that hard to read the complete size so you don't confuse others when making a comment. It makes a difference as load capacity can be different based on the Service Description even if the size numbers are the same.

[tjdonahoe]

That sounds right, 80 lbs air-LT , 50 lbs air-P...

[Bill M.]

LT tires come in load range C with 50 psi max, load range D with 65 psi max, and load range E, with 80 psi max.

The P..XL tires I run on the trailer right now have a max pressure of 50 psi. I am told by the tire people here that they are rated for the same load at 44 psi up to 50 psi. I run them at 50 psi.

Joe, thanks for your comment on brakes. I ordered the brakes from E-trailer. But they did not have the drums with the right bolt pattern. I did find them on Amazon though and will order them there.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Bill M.

LT tires come in load range C with 50 psi max, load range D with 65 psi max, and load range E, with 80 psi max.

The P..XL tires I run on the trailer right now have a max pressure of 50 psi. I am told by the tire people here that they are rated for the same load at 44 psi up to 50 psi. I run them at 50 psi.

Joe, thanks for your comment on brakes. I ordered the brakes from E-trailer. But they did not have the drums with the right bolt pattern. I did find them on Amazon though and will order them there.

OK, Just don't forget the need to de-rate the load capacity of your P type tires when used on trailer.